Families Cope with No Electricity

It was a hot day today, but families in our area found ways to deal with it even without electricity.

Dave O'Brien is visiting family in Rib Mountain when thunderstorms struck Friday night.

"As you can see, this tree behind me is huge," O'Brien said. "But we got it all cleaned up and there's nothing like family and working hard."

Now, they're part of the more than 1,000 homes in the area still without power.

"Everything's on ice, every cooler we can find, we use," O'Brien said.

O'Brien is using the opportunity to spend time with family and other things he cares about.

"You've got to get rid of the goods, you can't let your beer get warm, you've got to take care of it," he said. "After a hard day's work, there's nothing like a cold beer."

Jerry Seliger doesn't need coolers because he has a generator to power his fridge and freezer. He's one of the luckier ones.

"It could've been a lot of spoiled food, especially with the higher temps we have now," he said. "In the wintertime it would've been a different story, but it's tough right now for the people without generators."

It could've been worse had Saturday's temperature approached those of Friday, when the high was 95 degrees.